Cruz, meanwhile, has competed just 10 times in professional MMA but
is a decorated grappler, winning three World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
titles in addition to capturing the ADCC heavyweight championship
in 2003. “Pe de Pano posted a 2-2 UFC record to start his MMA
career before winning five straight fights outside the Octagon. He
last competed 13 months ago, falling by technical knockout to
heavy-handed countryman and current UFC talent Glover
Teixeira.

Griffin, 28, has lost four of his last five and joins the RFA
lightweight ranks following a 1-1 stretch as a featherweight in the
UFC. The Xtreme Couture rep competed for the vast majority of his
five-year Octagon career at 155 pounds before making the cut to
featherweight last year, outpointing Manny
Gamburyan before suffering a devastating knockout at the hands
of Bart
Palaszewski this past October.

Escudero, meanwhile, returned to the Octagon this past December as
an injury replacement, only to depart the promotion after dropping
decisions to Jacob
Volkmann and Mac Danzig.
The 26-year-old first joined the UFC in 2008, winning “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 8 and posting a 3-2 Octagon record before receiving
his first promotional pink slip.